Melissa Reinckens

Career

Melissa Reinckens is a Chambers recognized litigator that concentrates her practice on intellectual property matters involving false advertising, trademarks, trade dress, copyrights, as well as other commercial litigation matters. In describing Melissa, clients have said: Her broad experience and friendly-but-firm approach make her a secret weapon. She is also detailed, responsive and practical” praising her work as "truly excellent," and "obtained great results."

She is a substantive expert in the litigation of false advertising disputes and has in-depth experience with competitor lawsuits (state and federal Lanham Act), as well as regulatory and administrative challenges (FTC, FCC, state regulatory bodies, NAD, BBB), and related class actions. She regularly partners with clients, helping them to investigate, protect and defend advertising claims and fend off or assert claims against competitors, while providing key guidance on matters of claim development, assessment and substantiation. Additionally, Melissa has developed an expertise in IP damages who works regularly with experts on developing cutting edge damages theories and is a key strategist in this area.

Melissa has significant trial experience and has taken various intellectual property matters and several complex commercial matters to trial and arbitration. In this capacity, clients tout Melissa as an "outstanding trial lawyer," who "put together very good evidentiary records, and did a superb job examining the opponent's witnesses, and handling our defense against IP infringement claims."

Melissa is committed to the advancement of women in the legal profession and serves as a mentor to many women attorneys at DLA Piper. She serves as a San Diego delegate for DLA Piper's Leadership Alliance for Women (LAW), which is committed to the hiring, development and advancement of women lawyers. Melissa was selected to participate in DLA Piper's New Perimeter program – a global pro bono initiative – where she trained a group of 30 women lawyers in Nepal on intellectual property law.